Table 2.
Snacking Meal Characteristics Compared with Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Meal Characteristics (N=1,080 Snacking Occasions and N=2,759 Non-Snacking Meal Occasions)
| Food Preparation | All Non-Snacking Meal Occasions (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) |
Snacking-Only Occasions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Occasions (Overall %)a |
N Participant (Between %)b |
Average Participant Frequency (Within %)c |
N Occasions (Overall %)a |
N Participant (Between %)b |
Average Participant Frequency (Within %)c |
P Valued | |
| Who prepared the meal? | |||||||
| Parent/partner | 1765 (64%) | 147 (98%) | 65% | 583 (54%) | 124 (83%) | 63% | <0.001 |
| A cook outside home (e.g. fast food, restaurant, another adult) | 511 (19%) | 124 (83%) | 24% | 269 (25%) | 94 (63%) | 37% | 0.01 |
| Child participant + parent/partner | 483 (18%) | 112 (75%) | 23% | 228 (21%) | 78 (52%) | 40% | 0.02 |
| How was the meal prepared? | |||||||
| Only homemade | 1531 (56%) | 146 (97%) | 56% | 411 (38%) | 411 (274%) | 47% | <0.001 |
| Only pre-prepared | 641 (23%) | 129 (86%) | 29% | 515 (48%) | 515 (343%) | 54% | <0.001 |
| Only fast-food | 347 (13%) | 104 (69%) | 19% | 94 (9%) | 94 (63%) | 27% | 0.002 |
| Combination of homemade, pre-pared, fast-food | 239 (9%) | 72 (48%) | 17% | 60 (6%) | 60 (40%) | 24% | 0.01 |
| What were the primary decisions about what was served? | |||||||
| Child / family likes | 561 (20%) | 124 (83%) | 24% | 245 (23%) | 89 (59%) | 38% | 0.24 |
| Child asked for a specific food or meal | 283 (10%) | 107 (71%) | 16% | 228 (21%) | 80 (53%) | 37% | <0.001 |
| Desire to avoid conflict with child or a family fight | 76 (3%) | 19 (13%) | 19% | 33 (3%) | 15 (10%) | 28% | 0.90 |
| Healthy option | 369 (13%) | 93 (62%) | 19% | 143 (13%) | 67 (45%) | 29% | 0.67 |
| Planned meal | 433 (16%) | 115 (77%) | 22% | 48 (4%) | 35 (23%) | 17% | <0.001 |
| Using food available in the home | 435 (16%) | 113 (75%) | 21% | 135 (13%) | 63 (42%) | 27% | 0.04 |
| Quick and easy to make | 327 (12%) | 107 (71%) | 17% | 134 (12%) | 68 (45%) | 27% | 0.66 |
| Other | 274 (10%) | 106 (71%) | 16% | 114 (11%) | 58 (39%) | 27% | 0.86 |
| Logistics of the Eating Occasion | All Non-Snacking Meal Occasions (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) |
Snacking-Only Occasions | |||||
| N Occasions (Overall %)a |
N Participant (Between %)b |
Average Participant Frequency (Within %)c |
N Occasions (Overall %)a |
N Participant (Between %)b |
Average Participant Frequency (Within %)c |
P Valued | |
| How many children were present? | |||||||
| Child participant | 303 (11%) | 86 (57%) | 21% | 181 (17%) | 71 (47%) | 37% | 0.002 |
| Two children | 995 (36%) | 113 (75%) | 46% | 393 (36%) | 102 (68%) | 51% | 0.63 |
| Three children or more | 1461 (53%) | 134 (89%) | 59% | 506 (47%) | 105 (70%) | 63% | 0.11 |
| Who were these children? | |||||||
| Child participant | 300 (11%) | 86 (57%) | 21% | 181 (17%) | 71 (47%) | 37% | 0.001 |
| Child participant + siblings(s) | 2077 (75%) | 137 (91%) | 80% | 736 (68%) | 127 (85%) | 75% | 0.003 |
| Child participant + siblings(s)+others | 379 (14%) | 107 (71%) | 21% | 163 (15%) | 67 (45%) | 33% | 0.72 |
| Note for others: extended family members or non-family members | |||||||
| How many adults were present? | |||||||
| Parent participant | 1300 (47%) | 139 (93%) | 52% | 617 (57%) | 130 (87%) | 64% | <0.001 |
| Parent participant + another adult(s) | 1459 (53%) | 138 (92%) | 57% | 463 (43%) | 111 (74%) | 55% | <0.001 |
| Who were these adults? | |||||||
| Parent/primary caregiver | 1294 (47%) | 139 (93%) | 51% | 616 (57%) | 130 (87%) | 64% | <0.001 |
| Parent + other family member(s) | 1355 (49%) | 137 (91%) | 53% | 421 (39%) | 103 (69%) | 53% | <0.001 |
| Parent + other family member + non-family member | 105 (4%) | 50 (33%) | 12% | 42 (4%) | 29 (19%) | 22% | 0.82 |
| Note for other family member: second caregiver and grandparent | |||||||
| Features of the Eating Occasion | All Non-Snacking Meal Occasions (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) |
Snacking-Only Occasions | |||||
| N Occasions (Overall %)a |
N Participant (Between %)b |
Average Participant Frequency (Within %)c |
N Occasions (Overall %)a |
N Participant (Between %)b |
Average Participant Frequency (Within %)c |
P Valued | |
| Where did the meal take place? | |||||||
| Around the table | 2153 (78%) | 147 (98%) | 79% | 488 (45%) | 127 (85%) | 55% | <0.001 |
| On couch/chair in living area | 281 (10%) | 67 (45%) | 23% | 284 (26%) | 91 (61%) | 42% | <0.001 |
| Scattered throughout house or standing-up | 122 (4%) | 53 (35%) | 13% | 165 (15%) | 60 (40%) | 32% | <0.001 |
| Outside house (e.g. in the car, at a restaurant, other) | 202 (7%) | 81 (54%) | 15% | 143 (13%) | 59 (39%) | 30% | <0.001 |
| Note for other: at a park, school's picnic table/event, neighbor's home, relative's home, or friend's home. | |||||||
| What kinds of foods were eaten? | |||||||
| All Grains | 1832 (66%) | 147 (98%) | 37% | 343 (32%) | 107 (71%) | 41% | <0.001 |
| Dairy | 1253 (45%) | 140 (93%) | 49% | 331 (31%) | 108 (72%) | 43% | <0.001 |
| Fruit and Vegetables | 1597 (58%) | 146 (97%) | 58% | 528 (49%) | 120 (80%) | 55% | <0.001 |
| Meat, Beans, and Nuts | 1538 (56%) | 144 (96%) | 59% | 200 (19%) | 81 (54%) | 33% | <0.001 |
| Added Sugar (e.g., sugary drinks, cake, candy) | 354 (13%) | 107 (71%) | 18% | 259 (24%) | 96 (64%) | 34% | <0.001 |
| What was happening during the meal or snack? | |||||||
| Conversation only | 1502 (54%) | 140 (93%) | 58% | 437 (40%) | 116 (77%) | 52% | <0.001 |
| Screentime activities only | 458 (17%) | 89 (59%) | 27% | 255 (24%) | 92 (61%) | 38% | <0.001 |
| Screentime + conversation | 485 (18%) | 102 (68%) | 27% | 212 (20%) | 73 (49%) | 37% | 0.43 |
| Conversation + other | 57 (2%) | 22 (15%) | 12% | 25 (2%) | 12 (8%) | 22% | 0.57 |
| No conversation + other | 256 (9%) | 73 (49%) | 20% | 151 (14%) | 59 (39%) | 31% | <0.001 |
| Note for screentime activities: Listening to headphones; playing videogames; watching TV and/or TV in background; using cell phone, computer, or tablet | |||||||
| Note for other: Reading/looking at a book or none of the above | |||||||
| What was the atmosphere like? | |||||||
| Relaxed | 763 (28%) | 122 (81%) | 36% | 342 (32%) | 107 (71%) | 43% | 0.02 |
| Enjoyable | 1244 (45%) | 141 (94%) | 48% | 479 (44%) | 115 (77%) | 54% | 0.42 |
| Neutral | 491 (18%) | 97 (65%) | 25% | 180 (17%) | 65 (43%) | 38% | 0.70 |
| Rushed | 133 (5%) | 56 (37%) | 12% | 43 (4%) | 26 (17%) | 24% | 0.54 |
| Chaotic | 74 (3%) | 30 (20%) | 14% | 21 (2%) | 11 (7%) | 24% | 0.40 |
| Tense | 53 (2%) | 29 (19%) | 10% | 15 (1%) | 13 (9%) | 16% | 0.22 |
Overall tabulations count the frequency of response at the sample population level. For example, of the 2,759 breakfast, lunch, or dinner occasions, 64% (N=1,765) were prepared by the parent or partner.
Between tabulations compute the fraction of the full sample (N=150 participants) who reported a response at least once for the respective meal occasion. For example, 147 participants had at least one non-snacking meal occasion in which the parent or partner prepared a meal, which means that three participants never had a meal prepared by a parent/partner over the course of the study. Only 29 families had at least one meal occasion they considered to be a tense atmosphere.
Within-participant statistics report the fraction of the time that participants reported the same meal characteristic over multiple meals. For example, the most frequent response about the snacking atmosphere was “enjoyable” (44%) and 77% of the sample (N=115) reported the meal characteristic at least once. Of the 115 participants who had an “enjoyable” snacking occasion, they reported the same response about other snacking occasions 54% of the time -- approximately 1 in every 2 snacks.
Response values were dummy coded to test if the probability of the response differed between snacks and non-snacking occasions. Generalized estimating equation models were fitted to account for repeated observations and adjusted for parent and child sex, child age and race/ethnicity, household structure (e.g., single parent with/without other adults and multiple parents with/without other adults) and reported annual household income.